UPDATE: Kansas father fighting deportation now held in Hawaii

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas father and husband who is fighting efforts to deport him to Bangladesh was taken off a plane that was flying him back to his native country and is being held at a detention center in Hawaii, his attorneys said Tuesday.

Federal immigration officials put Syed Ahmed Jamal, who has lived in Kansas for 30 years, on the plane Monday before a federal immigration panel granted a temporary stay in the case. He was taken off the flight when it stopped to refuel in Honolulu, the firm representing him, Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law, posted on its Facebook page. Attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford didn’t immediately reply to messages left Tuesday seeking further details, and it’s unclear what the next step will be for Jamal, who is hoping to remain in the U.S. with his wife and three children, who are all U.S. citizens.

It was the latest dramatic turn for Jamal, who has been battling deportation since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him Jan. 24 at his family’s home in Lawrence.

A federal immigration judge early Monday removed a temporary stay he issued last week for Jamal, who was being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas. His attorneys immediately sought a new stay from the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia, which granted one later Monday, but not before Jamal was put on a flight to Bangladesh, Sharma-Crawford said Monday.

Jamal’s possible deportation had prompted 94,000 people to sign a petition in his support. Rep. Emauel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri whose office was flooded with calls about the case, took up Jamal’s cause, even visiting him in El Paso over the weekend. On Monday, before the second order was issued, he issued a statement saying he would continue with plans to draft a bill prompted by Jamal’s case that shows how “this broken and unfair” immigration system affects families who have deep ties to their communities.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins, whose Kansas district includes Lawrence, also said before the second stay was issued that she supported Jamal’s efforts to have his immigration case reopened.

“My heart aches for his wife and children,” Jenkins said. “I cannot imagine what they are going through during this very difficult time.”

Jamal has worked as an adjunct professor and researcher at Kansas City-area colleges. He entered the U.S. legally in 1987 to attend the University of Kansas but overstayed his visa while pursuing a doctorate. He was ordered deported in 2011 but had been allowed to stay in the U.S. and check in regularly with immigration authorities.

Sharma-Crawford said Jamal has a work permit that is valid until October 2018 and that he was trying to work within what she said was a complicated immigration system.

ICE officials have consistently declined to explain why they chose to enforce the order in late January.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A man who has lived in Kansas for 30 years was already on a plane being deported back to his native Bangladesh when a federal immigration board issued a new stay Monday that his supporters hope will allow him to be returned to Lawrence, his attorneys said.

It was a dramatic day for the family and supporters of Syed Ahmed Jamal, 55, who have been battling deportation since he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Jan. 24 in Lawrence at a home he shares with his wife and three children, who are U.S. citizens.

A federal immigration judge early Monday removed a temporary stay he issued last week for Jamal, who was being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas. His attorneys immediately filed a new motion for a stay with the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia, which granted the motion later Monday.

Before the second order was issued, Jamal was placed on a plane back to Bangladesh, said his attorney, Rekha Sharma-Crawford. The plane is scheduled to refuel in Hawaii and Sharma-Crawford said she was hopeful he would be taken off the plane and be sent back to the U.S., KMBC reported.

Jamal’s possible deportation had prompted 94,000 people to sign a petition in his support. Rep. Emauel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri whose office was flooded with calls about the case, took up Jamal’s cause, even visiting him in El Paso during the weekend. On Monday, before the second order was issued, he issued a statement saying he would continue with plans to draft a bill prompted by Jamal’s case that shows how “this broken and unfair” immigration system affects families who have deep ties to their communities.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins, whose Kansas district includes Lawrence, also said before the second stay was issued that she supported Jamal’s efforts to have his immigration case reopened.

“My heart aches for his wife and children,” Jenkins said. “I cannot imagine what they are going through during this very difficult time.”

Jamal is a native of Bangladesh. While in the U.S., he has worked as an adjunct professor and researcher at Kansas City-area colleges

Jamal entered the U.S. legally in 1987 to attend the University of Kansas but overstayed his visa while pursuing a doctorate. He was ordered deported in 2011 but had been allowed to stay in the U.S. and check in regularly with immigration authorities. Sharma-Crawford said Jamal has a work permit that is valid until October 2018 and that he was trying to work within what she said was a complicated immigration system.

ICE officials have consistently declined to explain why they chose to enforce the order in late January.

5:15 p.m.

A federal immigration board has granted a new stay of removal for a Kansas chemist who is battling efforts to deport him to Bangladesh.

That came Monday afternoon, hours after a federal immigration judge dissolved a temporary stay he had issued last week for 55-year-old Syed Ahmed Jamal, who was arrested in late January in Lawrence.

Jamal’s attorneys quickly filed a new motion for a stay with the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia, which granted it late.

The chemist and adjunct professor has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years. He and his wife have three U.S. native children live in Lawrence.

His arrest and possible deportation sparked protests and criticism, including from Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Immigration officials have not explained why they decided to arrest him Jan. 24.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has denied a stay that would keep a Kansas chemist in the U.S. while he battles immigration officials’ efforts to deport him to Bangladesh.

Attorneys for 55-year-old Syed Ahmed Jamal said a federal immigration judge on Monday dissolved a temporary stay issued last week, meaning Jamal could be deported at any time. Jamal’s attorneys immediately filed a new motion for stay with the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia.

Jamal, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years, was arrested Jan. 24 in Lawrence.

His attorneys at the Sharma-Crawford firm in Kansas City said Monday it was unclear whether Jamal was still at a detention center in El Paso, Texas.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas issued statements Monday saying they were disappointed in the judge’s decision.